Last night's special, hour-long Christmas episode of The Office made me wonder: could The Office permanently transform itself into an hour-long show, while keeping it's quality high? The episode was directed by Harold Ramis who is, by all means, a comedy God. His directorial touch is immediately apparent. The episode, although an hour-long, came at a rapid pace with no lulls whatsoever.
The greatness of The Office was on full display last night. Whenever I write my Office reviews, I keep trying to find aspects to criticize. But I can't. The Office contains more laughs than almost every comedy on TV (South Park, maybe, being the exception), and tells heartfelt, believable stories on top of the high level of comedy.
"A Benihana Christmas" opened up a few major storylines that we'll probably start to follow much more closely as the season goes along. Jim and Pam's dynamic seemed to change, and an inadvertent realization by Jim may end up having major consequences going forward.
Michael Scott's love life is in shambles, and the new guy (Andy), is helping him get back on the war path, so to speak. Steve Carrell and Ed Helms (both Daily Show alums) have an easy chemistry and familiarity with each other. I thought Helms' character didn't have a whole lot of staying power when I first met him, but he's turned out to be a constant source of laughter and a great foil for Dwight.
Pam and Karen team up to take on Angela's party planning committee in my favorite plot of the night. Pam and Karen are now getting along, which is fun because it makes Jim exceedingly uncomfortable.
Comedies have always been only a half-hour long. Why? Jokes are hard to write, I get it. But, at some point, you'd have to think that some show will break the mold and make their comedy an hour. Doesn't The Office seem like the perfect candidate?
-Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer